Trump Just Fired the Remaining Members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

In a Fed-Ex letter, President Donald Trump has actually fired all staying members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) with no description. This follows 6 of the council members resigning from their positions in June, mentioning Trump’s regressive legislation and inactiveness on the international HIV/AIDS crisis as the factors in an open letter to Newsweek

Former member of the council Scott A. Schoettes tweeted the following on Thursday afternoon:

“Remaining #HIV/AIDS council members booted by @realDonaldTrump. No respect for their service. Fangerous that #Trump and Co. (Pence esp._ are eliminating few remaining people willing to push back against harmful policies, like abstinence-only sex ed. #WeObject #PACHA6 #Resist”

Reached for remark by the Washington Blade, PACHA council member Gabriel Maldonado verified that he and the other staying members had actually been fired for “unclear” factors.

The Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson reports:

“I can only speculate,” Maldonado stated. “Like any administration, they want their own people there. Many of us were Obama appointees. I was an Obama appointee and my term was continuing until 2018.”

Maldonado stated “ideological and philosophical differences” with the administration are a possible factor for the terminations.

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“I was co-chair of the disparities committee, so much of my advocacy and policy references surrounded vulnerable populations, addressing issuing of diverse communities, specifically looking at the impacts of the LGBT community, namely, the disproportionate impact of HIV and AIDS to people of color, gay men, transgender women,” Maldonado stated. “And a lot of those key vulnerable populations are not being prioritized in this administration.”

It is not unusual for a brand-new president to clear a council of its members and restaff, and President Barack Obama did the very same with PACHA when he took workplace in2008 Maldonado mentions that Trump’s actions are irregular and irregular with that of previous presidents:

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“It is common for appointees to be terminated and for folks to kind of want their own people in,” Maldonado stated. “I think where the discrepancy comes in is why a year later, No. 1? Two, many of us, our terms were over earlier this year and we were sworn back in, and three were stayed on nearly four months after an executive order was signed continuing the council.”

Trump restored PACHA with an executive order in September of 2017, however– Johnson keeps in mind– his “fiscal year 2018 budget proposal also sought massive cuts to HIV/AIDS programs, including $150 million on HIV/AIDS programs at the Centers of Disease Control and more than $1 billion in cuts from global programs like PEPFAR Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria. The Republican-controlled Congress has thus far continued to fund these programs at previous levels.”